Polity.org.za Audio Articles

South Africa may face class action over Sharpeville massacre

Survivors of one of the defining events of the anti-apartheid struggle, the 1960 Sharpeville Massacre, and their dependents have applied for permission to institute a class action against South Africa's government over the failure to repeal a 65-year-old law that prevents them from seeking damages.

An application, filed in the Gauteng High Court by one survivor and two descendants on behalf of a group of victims, seeks to start proceedings to compel South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and his justice and police ministers to take steps to repeal the Indemnity Act 61 of 1961.

The gunning down by police of at least 69 protesters at Sharpeville, south of Johannesburg, brought global attention to the struggle against White-minority rule. The application is the latest attempt by people affected by apartheid-era crimes to seek justice and compensation. A commission of inquiry into the delay in prosecuting crimes by South African security forces during that period is also taking place.

"The legal claim is being brought as a class action by three lead plaintiffs on behalf of the wider cohort of victims," South Africa's Lawyers for Human Rights and the London-based Leigh Day legal firm said in a statement. "Although the massacre is commemorated each year on March 21 as a landmark event in South African history, the grief and trauma of the survivors and their families has largely been ignored."

Vincent Magwenya, Ramaphosa's spokesperson, said he was unaware of the application, which was filed on September 2. Kamogelo Mogotsi, spokesperson for the police minister, referred queries to the national police spokesperson, who didn't' answer a call to her mobile phone. A phone call to the justice department spokesperson wasn't answered and an email to him wasn't replied to outside of normal office hours.

The case was brought on behalf of Abram Mofokeng, an 87-year-old who was shot in the foot and back at the protest, and two people, aged 71 and 72, whose fathers were killed. More than 70 survivors and family members have expressed interest in joining the case, the lawyers said.

Research published in 2024, using police records, showed as many as 91 people may have been killed and 238 injured. Claims filed for damages in 1960 were invalidated by the indemnity law.

South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which held hearings in the 1990s after apartheid ended, identified 21 000 victims of the system. In 2003 the government started paying 17 000 of those compensation of R30 000, worth about $4 140 at the time.

Mofokeng "considers that it was completely inadequate and failed to reflect the severe lifelong injury and harm he suffered," the lawyers said.

Nov polls 'critical turning point' to end corruption, service failures – Amnesty International

Ahead of the upcoming local government elections scheduled for November 4, Amnesty International South Africa is calling on voters to cast their ballots with human rights and accountability at the forefront of their minds.

With widespread public frustration over collapsing infrastructure and poor governance, the human rights organisation stresses that these elections represent a critical turning point for the country.

Amnesty International South Africa executive director Shenilla Mohamed stated that high levels of dissatisfaction with service delivery and visible failures in many municipalities make these elections a critical moment of accountability.

"Millions of people in South Africa continue to be denied their rights owing to corruption, mismanagement, poor governance and failing service delivery," said Mohamed. "Successive governments have failed to deliver on the constitutional rights to have access to adequate housing, water, sanitation and other basic services."

Mohamed noted that voters must send a "strong message" to elected politicians that corruption and poor service delivery will no longer be tolerated.

She emphasised that basic service delivery is the foundation of South Africa's human rights and reminded citizens that the State has a binding constitutional obligation to ensure access to these rights.

A major concern heading into the November 4 polls is the steady decline in voter turnout over recent years. Participation in local government elections dropped significantly from 57.94% in 2016 to just 45.86% in 2021.

According to Amnesty International, these figures reflect a "growing dissatisfaction with the State", particularly among young people who the organisation believes feel disconnected from the political process.

Mohamed warned against the danger of staying away from the polls, reiterating that voting is a vital mechanism to challenge systemic failures.

"Municipal officials are critical for service delivery in that they manage the budgets and set the priorities that determine how rights are delivered. We need to change the face of service delivery in the country from one of corruption and mismanagement with no consequence to one of efficiency and accountability," she said.

She urged voters to ensure that the politicians elected possess the necessary skills to deliver on their mandates and are strictly held to account if they fail.

"This election is an opportunity to demand accountability, and vote for a country where human rights come first," she said.

The call to action comes at a time when service delivery has once again become a central campaign promise. However, Mohamed criticised political parties for reducing these constitutional obligations to mere pre-election politicking.

"Access to basic services remains a persistent challenge, corruption and mismanagement is widespread, and hope for improved governance is low," she noted.

The grim reality of municipal governance is underscored by the Auditor-General's recent reports, which reveal that only 39 out of 257 municipalities achieved a clean audit. Furthermore, local governments lost a staggering R17.6-billion in fruitless and wasteful expenditure over a three-year period (2021/2022 - 2023/2024).

Amnesty International highlighted that the standard and quality of essential service delivery across the country has largely been weakened by the mismanagement of public funds, at the expense of residents.

"It has been more than 30 years of freedom and still many have to go without access to adequate housing, sufficient water for drinking and domestic use, and safe sanitation," Mohamed said.

"The government needs to fix this, and we, as the people, need to demand that this happens now."

ANC reiterates 'system glitches' as it appeals to IEC to recognise election candidates

The ANC has formally requested that the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) recognise and process candidate details that the party says were successfully captured and stored on the system prior to last Friday's deadline, rather than the IEC treating the submissions as non-existent, owing to the party's belief that "technical failures" blocked final confirmation.

The party on Thursday clarified that it is not asking the Commission to condone late nominations. Instead, it is seeking only the inclusion of names that were already on the Online Candidate Nomination System (OCNS) by the 17:00 deadline, with no amendments or reordering of any lists.

The ANC had claimed on Tuesday that the IEC's candidate-capture system experienced technical disruptions on the final submission day, affecting multiple contesting political parties across various municipalities.

According to ANC national spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu, the Commission itself reported that 2 274 candidates across 45 political parties were captured on the system but not recorded as finally submitted, and were thus not officially submitted by the deadline.

She further explained that provincial secretaries, working alongside provincial list committees and under the guidance of the ANC Electoral Committee, had uploaded all branch and regionally nominated candidates onto the OCNS.

"That upload was one hundred per cent complete before 17h00 on August 28. This was a collective undertaking of the whole movement, from the branch to the National Executive Committee, and it was carried out," Bhengu stated.

However, she noted that the system's final electronic confirmation step failed to close for a portion of those lists.

"The difficulty emerged in the closing hours of the window and was reported to the Commission as it arose. The records of the affected candidates were already captured and held on the OCNS before 17h00. We are addressing these system failures with the Commission through the proper channels," she explained.

IEC chairperson Mosotho Moepya said on Wednesday that candidates who failed to finalise their applications are officially out of the running but emphasised that the electoral commission is currently reviewing all submissions to ensure full compliance with legislative frameworks.

ANC Electoral Committee chairperson Kgalema Motlanthe declared the overall candidate nomination and submission process a resounding success. He expressed confidence that a solution would be reached, one that expands, rather than constrains, democratic participation.

RMB/BER Business Confidence Index stabilises after second-quarter setback

The Business Confidence Index (BCI) published by financial services firm RMB and economic research organisation the Bureau for Economic Research (BER) edged down by one point to 38 in the third quarter, slightly down from the 39 recorded in the second quarter.

The index indicates that this level of confidence implies that 62% of respondents remain dissatisfied with prevailing business conditions.

Taking a longer-term perspective, the index remains slightly below its long-term average of 40 and well below the recent high of 47 reached in the first quarter of the year.

The latest result suggests that the sharp eight-point decline in confidence recorded in the second quarter has neither deepened nor been reversed. Overall, the index notes that business sentiment remains subdued, with firms still awaiting renewed impetus to lift confidence and activity.

The survey took place from August 13 to 24. Compared with the second quarter, some of the immediate pressures associated with the earlier oil and fuel price shock had begun to ease.

Inflation also moderated during the survey period, while the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) kept the policy rate unchanged in July, following the 25-basis-point increase in May.

However, geopolitical and global trade uncertainty remained elevated and domestic firms continued to face weak demand and familiar operating constraints. Against this backdrop, the index notes that the largely unchanged BCI is unsurprising.

It notes that confidence declined in four of the five sub-sectors that make up the headline index, except for retailers, whose confidence rose by nine points to its long-term average of 40.

Building contractors and wholesalers' confidence each edged down by 1 point to 45 and 39, respectively.

RMB and the BER say the underlying picture among building contractors suggests increasing pressure in non-residential building activity, amid signs of weaker government-related project activity.

By contrast, they note that there are some tentative signs of improvement on the residential side, supported by a more encouraging broader project pipeline.

The index explains that there was divergence among wholesalers, as consumer-goods wholesalers reported an improvement in sales, while sales among non-consumer-goods wholesalers deteriorated meaningfully.

This suggests that consumer-facing demand held up somewhat better, while weakness in business-to-business activity became more pronounced.

Manufacturers' confidence recorded the second-largest decline, falling by four points to 27, the lowest confidence level among the five sectors surveyed and below its long-term average.

The partial reversal in the acute cost pressures seen in the second quarter did not translate into stronger activity during the third quarter.

Additionally, domestic sales remained weak, export volumes deteriorated amid weaker global growth and seasonally adjusted production declined. Capacity utilisation also decreased, suggesting that manufacturers continue to operate with significant spare capacity.

The index notes that the largest decline was among new vehicle dealers, where confidence dropped by 11 points to its long-term average of 38 amid higher stock levels relative to demand.

Sales volumes at new vehicle dealers improved during the quarter but this was almost fully offset by the decline in sales volumes of used vehicles.

The index notes that the decline in confidence, therefore, appears to reflect broader concerns about the sustainability of demand and the operating environment amid a build-up of stocks rather than a uniform deterioration in current sales.

RMB and the BER say that the broader composite indicators point to a similarly subdued picture. Realised business conditions remained weak, while the activity indicator was unchanged at a low level.

At the same time, expected business conditions improved somewhat from the particularly weak second-quar...

Dirco clears High Commissioner Sooklal of suspicion of facilitating Zuma-Gupta meetings

The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) announced on Wednesday that its official mission to India did not facilitate any substantive engagement between former President Jacob Zuma and fugitive businessman Ajay Gupta during Zuma's recent private trip.

Following the conclusion of internal consultations with South Africa's High Commissioner to India Ambassador Anil Sooklal, Dirco confirmed that all assistance rendered to Zuma fell strictly within standard protocol, administrative and logistical support, which is routinely extended to former Heads of State.

The department's review follows a private visit by Zuma to India between June 25 and 27.

The Presidency initially informed Dirco of the trip on June 19, requesting customary protocol arrangements.

Dirco reiterated that routine courtesy assistance to former Heads of State does not constitute authorisation to represent the government of South Africa or advance its official interests.

Addressing public concern regarding a religious event attended by both Zuma and Gupta in Haridwar, Dirco clarified that Ambassador Sooklal attended the event independently after receiving a separate invitation from the host organisers.

The High Commissioner did not accompany Zuma or Gupta to the venue.

While Gupta was noted to be present among the roughly 1 000 invited guests, Sooklal reported no direct interaction with him, according to the department.

Dirco's assessment concluded that the Mission's role was strictly confined to ceremonial receptions and the attendance of a public event in an official capacity.

The department emphasised that the Mission did not arrange, facilitate or participate in any private meetings between Zuma and Gupta.

Despite the lack of interaction during the trip, Dirco reaffirmed its commitment to the rule of law and accountability.

The department noted that while Gupta is not currently subject to an active extradition request by South Africa, Dirco continues to actively facilitate cooperation between South African and Indian law enforcement authorities regarding mutual legal assistance requests and ongoing legal processes involving the Gupta family.

To avoid future controversies, Dirco has recommended the implementation of a new State mechanism. This framework will ensure that future international travel and engagements by former Presidents are thoroughly assessed for potential reputational, political, diplomatic, or security risks before logistics are approved.

IEC records 43% surge in candidates for Nov elections, despite thousands missing registration cutoff

The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) has announced a massive surge in political participation ahead of the upcoming local government elections in November, while clarifying that candidates who failed to finalise their applications are officially out of the running.

Addressing the media in Centurion on Wednesday, IEC chairperson Mosotho Moepya revealed that a staggering 142 072 candidates have been nominated to contest 10 526 council seats across South Africa's municipalities.

The final tally when submissions officially closed at 17:00 last Friday marks a roughly 43% increase compared with the 2021 municipal elections, which saw 99 000 nominations filed.

On Tuesday the ANC claimed that on the final day of submission, the IEC's candidate-capture system experienced technical issues that impacted several contesting political parties.

Moepya emphasised that the electoral commission was currently reviewing all submissions to ensure full compliance with legislative frameworks.

"This process includes verifying completed nomination acceptance forms, confirming deposit payments from political parties and independent candidates, and validating the lists of registered voters supporting independent hopefuls," Moepya said.

The rush to meet the cutoff created a late bottleneck that left thousands in limbo.

A total of 2 274 candidates were captured on the Online Candidate Nomination System (OCMS) but were not officially submitted by the deadline.

This impacted 480 proportional representation (PR) and 1 794 ward prospects across 45 unique political parties.

Moepya drew a firm line on these omissions, stating: "These potential candidates did not successfully submit their details and are officially out of contention for the upcoming elections."

For valid applications, the IEC's digital platform proved highly popular. The commission reported that 299 political parties and 127 candidates successfully used the OCMS.

Meanwhile, 205 political parties and 634 independent candidates opted to submit their documentation manually at various IEC offices nationwide.

The comprehensive breakdown of the 142 072 valid candidates includes 100 856 candidates nominated by political parties for ward seats, 40 241 candidates nominated by political parties for PR seats and 975 independent candidates contesting ward seats.

Political party contestation is exceptionally high across all tiers of government.

Locally, 546 out of the country's 732 registered political parties (75%) will actively participate in the local government elections.

At national level, 227 of the 345 registered parties (66%) are entering the race.

This intense democratic interest is mirrored locally, with 92% of provincial-level parties, 80% of metropolitan-level parties, and 82% of district-level parties fielding candidates.

Metropolitan battlegrounds are set to be the most fiercely contested in the country's history.

The City of Johannesburg leads the nation with the most crowded PR pool, featuring 80 political parties. This is followed closely by the City of Tshwane with 72 parties, eThekwini with 70, Ekurhuleni with 69, and the City of Cape Town with 55 parties.

Rounding out the top ten most contested municipalities are Emfuleni (43), Polokwane (40), Rustenburg (38), Nelson Mandela Bay (38), and the Capricorn District (38). As the IEC finalises its verification processes, the stage is set for an unprecedentedly competitive local government election.

MVC takes aim at 'incomplete' political donor records, 'toothless' funding framework

The latest political funding disclosure has sparked intense debate over the true meaning of transparency in South Africa's politics, with civil society organisation My Vote Counts (MVC) warning that current laws are leaving voters in the dark about who controls the cash.

Ahead of the upcoming local government elections, political parties declared a combined R116.8-million in private donations for the first quarter of the 2026/27 financial year.

This explosive three-month surge represents more than half of the R175-million declared across the entire previous 2025/26 financial year.

The DA single-handedly drove the quarter's funding boom, accounting for about R104-million, nearly 89% of the total declared across all parties.

However, it is the structure of these donations, rather than just the staggering amount, that is turning heads.

The DA's declarations included R30-million from Fynbos Ekwiteit and R25-million from Fynbos Kapitaal.

Both corporate entities are directly linked to Capitec founder Michiel le Roux, totalling a R55-million injection in just three months.

While these donations technically comply with the Political Party Funding Act because they were made by separate legal entities, MVC argues they expose a critical loophole in South Africa's democracy.

"Does our political funding framework adequately account for connected entities and common beneficial ownership when assessing the concentration of political influence?" MVC questioned on Tuesday, noting that transparency is meaningless if systemic issues are ignored.

The organisation is currently engaged in ongoing litigation challenging the constitutionality of the Act.

Its legal challenge aims to enforce strict limits on cumulative donations made by related or connected donors to prevent single wealthy individuals from exercising disproportionate influence through corporate webs.

MVC also expressed concern over individual donors appearing in the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) records with incomplete names or only initials.

The organisation cited examples like "Mr M Moshal" or "Mr D Barnes" as evidence of a framework that it says fails ordinary citizens.

"Voters should not have to search the internet, cross-reference records or submit PAIA (Promotion of Access to Information Act) applications simply to establish who has donated significant sums," MVC stated.

The organisation emphasised that full identification must be mandatory within the disclosure itself to ensure true accountability.

While the DA dominates the funding charts, the ANC is drawing criticism for non-compliance. MVC labelled the ruling party's failure to meet its statutory obligations part of a "recurring pattern".

MVC said the ANC's failure to comply with legislation designed to strengthen accountability is a direct hit to public trust.

Consequently, MVC has called on the IEC to ensure that compliance rules are enforced equally, regardless of a party's size or political weight.

The current funding landscape also raises tough questions about the Multi-Party Democracy Fund (MPDF). Established by law, the MPDF allows corporate and individual donors to contribute to South African democracy anonymously, with funds distributed proportionately among all represented parties to avoid buying direct political favour.

Yet, private donors continue to overwhelmingly reject the MPDF in favour of direct party contributions.

This preference matters deeply, MVC said. Direct funding creates exclusive relationships of access and influence between billionaires, corporations, and politicians, it argued.

MVC suggests that if big-money donors "genuinely care" about safeguarding South Africa's multi-party system rather than purchasing political leverage, they must reconsider where they direct their financial power. With local elections on the horizon, the call for systemic reform has never been more urgent, the organisation st...

Goldman sees room for South Africa asset rally on credit upgrade

Markets are not pricing in the probability of South Africa's return to investment grade, leaving scope for government bonds, stocks and the rand to rally, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

The country could regain its investment status as soon as 2028 as ratings companies reward its improving finances and economic growth, a Goldman team including economist Andrew Matheny wrote in a note.

"Our baseline is that South Africa regains its first IG rating in 2028, albeit with two-sided risks to timing," Matheny said. "Markets at this stage in our assessment largely do not price this in."

Goldman's analysis suggests scope for the government 10-year local-currency yield to fall more than 100 basis points to 7.6%, and the sovereign spread, or yield premium of dollar bonds over US treasuries, to outperform investment-grade emerging markets. Five-year credit-default swaps, at around 116 basis points on Tuesday, may fall to about 100 basis points, the analysts wrote.

"Given the larger rally in fixed income relative to equities observed to date, we see comparatively more structural upside to the latter over time if macroeconomic improvements continue," the team wrote. They also see about 9% upside for the rand versus the dollar based their fair-value estimate, but "realising this upside depends in part on the broader dollar," they wrote.

Africa's largest economy was cut to junk in 2017 as growth slowed and public debt soared. But improvements in the fiscal picture, growth and the policy backdrop will likely result in credit upgrades over the next year, the analysts wrote.

S&P Global Ratings and Moody's Ratings assess South Africa at BB and Baa2, respectively, or two levels below investment grade. Both have a positive outlook on the debt, suggesting an upgrade is likely.

IEC won't grant extensions after ANC claims 'technical glitch' in candidate registration

The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) has firmly clarified that no political party or independent candidate will be granted an extension to capture candidate details following the official close of nominations for the 2026 Local Government Elections (LGE).

The commission confirmed that the deadline strictly concluded on Friday, August 28 at 17:00, and that it has no intention of offering additional opportunities to any contesting entities.

This in direct response to a statement issued by the ANC, in which the party claimed that its submission process was disrupted by technical difficulties on the IEC's candidate-capture system on the final day of submissions.

According to the ANC, these technical glitches impacted several political parties, leaving a small number of the ANC's entries incomplete.

"This is a technical and administrative matter, and it is being handled through the Commission's established processes," stated ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu.

She added that the party remains confident that the outstanding candidate entries will be successfully finalised in coordination with the electoral body.

However, the IEC defended the integrity of its infrastructure, clarifying that the Online Candidate Nomination System remained fully operational and available to users throughout the entire nomination period, including up to the exact cut-off time on Friday.

To ensure candidates had ample time to navigate the system without interruption, the Commission highlighted that the online portal was opened early on June 21, long before the official nomination period formally commenced on proclamation day on August 7.

The IEC noted that the specific intricacies and disputes surrounding the candidate nomination process will be formally tabled and discussed within the National Political Liaison Committee, which comprises all political parties represented in the National Assembly.

Reiterating its commitment to a transparent, impartial, and credible electoral process, the IEC announced it will host a comprehensive briefing on Wednesday.

The media briefing, set to take place at Election House in Riverside Office Park, Centurion, will outline the final outcomes of the candidate nomination stage and detail the upcoming milestones for the upcoming local government elections.

DA declares ANC's 'comrade State' approach a sign of 'terminal decline' as local election race heats up

The DA is taking a hard line against President Cyril Ramaphosa's recent campaign rhetoric, with DA leader Geordin Hill-Lewis declaring that the ANC is entering a phase of "terminal decline" ahead of the November 4 local government elections.

Hill-Lewis predicted a major political shift in the upcoming polls, asserting that the ANC will soon govern far fewer of South Africa's major cities and towns.

The friction follows from comments made in the ANC's local government manifesto. Ramaphosa suggested that ANC-run municipalities hold a distinct advantage because their mayors can easily leverage national government connections by turning to a fellow "comrade".

Hill-Lewis criticised this stance, labelling it as "profoundly out of step" with South Africa's modern political landscape and a desperate attempt to cling to the "comrade State" as a lifeline.

More importantly, he noted that it directly contradicts the spirit and reality of the Government of National Unity, formed after the 2024 general elections, where the ANC lost its outright majority and now governs nationally alongside the DA and other coalition partners.

"After decades of broken promises and failing municipalities, Ramaphosa is now asking South Africans to vote ANC not because it can make government work, but because its 'comrades' occupy positions in the State," Hill-Lewis said. "That is precisely the old politics South Africa is leaving behind."

The DA leader maintained that the "comrade" system has completely failed to maintain or fix local infrastructure.

Instead, he argued, it has left towns and cities broken, a reality that the ANC is incapable of reversing.

"The ANC still struggles to distinguish between the party and the State. But the South Africa Ramaphosa is describing is disappearing," Hill-Lewis stated.

He emphasised that public resources should not depend on political alignment, noting that taxes funding water, electricity, roads and housing belong to South African citizens, not political parties.

He said public services must function because a government is competent and accountable, not because a local mayor has the right political connections.

DA'S LONG-TERM PLAN

Looking ahead to the elections, Hill-Lewis said the DA is actively fighting to become the largest party in at least four major metros, including all three metros in Gauteng, with the goal of restoring basic service delivery.

This local government push is part of a broader, long-term strategy. The party aims to use local successes to lead the Gauteng provincial government in 2029 and, ultimately, form a DA-led national government.

Hill-Lewis drew a contrast between the ANC and DA heading into the polls: "The ANC says vote for them because their comrades control the State. The DA says vote for us because we know how to make the State work."